In our present currency system in this country, Federal Reserve Notes are used as currency, or legal tender, to pay debts, bank drafts, checks and other forms of monetary transactions. Increasingly however, electronic transactions such as credit card transactions or debit card transactions are used in place of currency. In these electronic transactions, a card or similar device is used to generate a record of the transaction and apply a debit against the cardholder's banking or other financial account. However, credit cards, debit cards and currency are subject to theft and misuse by others. Accordingly, there is a need for an electronic wallet (or purse, hereinafter denoted for purposes of this invention as a "wallet") and associated system that can store financial information in addition to a quantity of money predetermined by an owner of the electronic wallet. Additionally, the wallet has means for transferring funds to/from other wallets or other devices adapted to receive or transfer such funds
One reference, U.S. Pat. No. 5,221, 838, to Gutman, discloses an electronic wallet that may be used to implement a variety of financial transactions. In this device, the electronic wallet in conjunction with a communications system is used to communicate with a central banking or other financial institution in order to debit a financial account of the user. As such, the wallet of Gutman is not a stand-alone device in that it requires the financial institution to be "on line" in order to complete a transaction and update a user's account. Additionally, the electronic wallet of Gutman includes a printer, bar code reader and a magnetic card reader and writer for reading and magnetically writing information related to owners of credit cards, debit cards, or the like.
While the wallet of Gutman may function according to its specifications, the electronic wallet of Gutman is inconvenient and cumbersome to use. Additionally, the electronic wallet of Gutman does not provide for an electronic wallet with means for funds transfer that an individual can easily operate to transfer money securely within the existing monatary system. Further, the system of Gutman, by requiring that the wallet thereof and a retailer be "on line" with a financial institution in order for a transaction to take place, is dependent on reliabilities of computers of the financial institution for transitions to take place. As is well known, banking computers are "down" with certain, almost predictable regularity. As such, the system of Gutman does not allow cash to circulate freely as in the traditional money system does where one individual can pay another individual and the other individual can then transfer that money or check record to another to pay debt, or for making purchases at vending machines equipped to interface with an electronic wallet of the present invention, taking out money orders, or elimination of ATM machines, attendants at toll booths, pay telephone stations, etc.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the instant invention to provide an electronic wallet with means for funds transfer that is a stand-alone repository of electronic money connectable to a wide variety of electronic money exchange devices without having to be "on line" with a financial institution during a transaction. The wallet is connectable to a bank or other financial institution via telephone service for the purpose of replenishing electronic money reserves in the wallet. Additional objects will become clear upon a reading of the following appended specification and drawings.